


the sauce is sad (and i want to help it)

by greatduwangs



Category: One Piece
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, M/M, OP Secret Santa, happy holidays AAA
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:48:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28301130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greatduwangs/pseuds/greatduwangs
Summary: Luffy's metaphors never made any sense, but his actions did.  It's only when he receives some advice from a spirit that he knows what to do, and how to make sure his own swordsman knows he's loved.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Roronoa Zoro
Comments: 6
Kudos: 103
Collections: OP Secret Santa 2020





	the sauce is sad (and i want to help it)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, Nick! I hope you like this piece. It was a lot of fun writing for it and I adored your prompt a lot.

For a crew that was so rambunctious in the sun, their rowdiness was surprisingly absent during the moonlight. Perhaps they had expended all their energy during the day, or maybe it was just the gentle rocking of the ship that lulled them to sleep. Luffy often thought of it as a mystery, not one worth solving. But a mystery nonetheless.

It was a night like any other in the New World. Calm, surprisingly, with not another ship or soul to be seen in sight. Surely at some point or another in the night there would be an interruption to this peace, but for now Luffy relished in it. It was strange to think that the energetic boy would appreciate the peace, yet here he was. It was in these rare moments that he was able to look around at his crew and  _ love  _ them for who they were. No Marines to break into his thoughts, no rival pirate raids, no  _ whatever  _ happens to come their way and interrupt their sleep. 

He sat cross legged on the figurehead of the Sunny, having been appointed as lookout for the first half of the night. Usually, lookouts were supposed to go to the crow’s nest, but this was his special seat. Besides, if there  _ was  _ an ambush, he’d sense it with his haki.

So, he looked out to the ocean illuminated by the moonlight, grinning from ear to ear under the stars. Makino once told him that when someone dies, their soul turns into a constellation - like a feast of stars, she had said. Luffy at the time didn’t exactly understand what that meant, but now - sitting under Ace’s watchful gaze - he did. Of course, Merry was up there too - and maybe even old man Whitebeard. So many of those who passed on were looking to his crew!

His mind drifted from the stars to his crew themselves.

It might not have been possible, but Luffy’s grin stretched even wider than before, and he pulled his hat down in excitement.

Just the thought of them having adventures was making him giddy, but the fact that they were all here, alive and well, filled him with such ecstatic glee. Of  _ course  _ they survived and got even stronger - they were the Straw Hat Pirates, after all! - but the reality was absolutely wonderful. To be able to sail the seas with his friends, to see them grow and to see them realise their dreams. . . Luffy felt a surging sense of pride as the captain. 

Just look at Zoro - look at how much stronger he had become! Look at his fierce determination, his  _ love  _ for his crew (though he didn’t show it outwardly often), the way he kept Luffy in place as captain. When Luffy saw him training, or beating up some bastards who decided to attack them, he felt happy.

Yet seeing him so recluse and distant during parties nowadays, he felt sad.

“ _ What’re you thinking about, captain _ ?”

A childish voice called out from beside him, and the Sunny’s spirit materialised on the figurehead with him. Luffy gave them a smile. It was not the first time he had seen the Sunny’s spirit, nor would it be the last. 

“I’m thinking about Zoro,” he said softly. 

Sunny tilted their head. “ _ Is he okay _ ?”

“Of course!” he said. The response was quick, almost too quick, and Luffy felt the spirit’s doubt. Sighing, he dropped his head. “At least. He is physically. I dunno about - he’s not sick.”

“ _ Then what’s wrong _ ?”

Luffy pouted. It was hard to put his thoughts into words, at least in a way that would make sense to the Sunny. He always had trouble with this kind of stuff anyway.

After a moment, he finally spoke. “It’s like - we used to have meat with lots of sauce! And it was great! But now the sauce is gone - well, it’s still there, but it won’t get out of the bottle. I know the sauce is just like that, but I want to make sure it hasn’t gone bad. Not that I think the sauce has gone bad!” Luffy cast his eyes down. “I just think the sauce is sad.”

It was a strange analogy, to be sure, but it was the only way Luffy knew how to describe his indescribable feelings. Yet, stranger enough, the Sunny nodded and hummed along, as if it understood what he meant. No - it  _ did  _ understand, for its heart - much like its captain - was still a child, and could comprehend the nonsense that came out of Luffy’s mouth.

Sunny turned its head towards Luffy, beaming. “ _ Sometimes you gotta squeeze the sauce out _ !” it said, as if it would all make sense.

There was a moment of silence, as the gears in Luffy’s head turned and he pondered the Sunny’s comment. Then, realisation clicked, and a bright grin lit up the night. “That’s it! You’re a genius!”

“Who’s a genius?” the unmistakable voice of Franky cut into his thoughts, and the cyborg (Luffy would never get over how  _ cool  _ he looked now) walked up to the figurehead. It was his turn for nightwatch, now.

Luffy spun around and jumped off the lion head. “Sunny is.”

“YOW! You got that right, bro!” Franky lifted up his sunglasses. “Thanks for keeping an eye on her for me. You should get some shut-eye.”

Nodding and saluting to Franky, before hugging him tightly and wishing him a good night, Luffy crept back to the boy’s cabin. Quietly, of course, as to not wake anyone up and risk getting kicked in the head. He’d faced that far too many times to count.

Yet it was not his own bed that he found himself drawn to, nor was it the hammock that hung ever-so-slightly over Usopp. No - instead, he tip-toed to a certain green-haired swordsman’s bed, one distanced from the others, and stared down at the sleeping Zoro. Even when asleep, he looked gruff and  _ strong _ . Kneeling down, Luffy poked at Zoro’s cheek.

“Oi, Zoro,” he whispered.

Zoro groaned and flipped to his side. He didn’t answer nor did he wake up.

“Zoro,” Luffy whispered, a little louder this time. Still, nothing. “Zoro, I used one of your swords as a skewer for meat.”

“You’re a dead man if you did that Luffy,” Zoro finally answered, opening up his one good eye. His gaze quickly shifted from Luffy to his swords, which had not moved since he last saw them. Knowing that Luffy could not possibly remember how his swords were laid out, Zoro sighed and turned to face his captain, his voice grumbling from his tiredness. “What’s up?”

Luffy set his hat aside. “I wanna sleep with you.”

“Sure. . . “ Zoro said, half-falling asleep. “‘Long as you don’t take up too much room.”

While, yes, what Luffy had just said had other connotations for others, Luffy and Zoro both knew what he was referring to. Zoro moved to the side of his bed, allowing room for Luffy to settle in. Just as he did, Luffy wrapped his arms around Zoro and moved in closer to his chest. It was warm, and smelt of steel and sweat.

If Zoro was surprised by this action, he didn’t show it. In fact, his eyes were still closed, and Luffy wondered if he was sleeping or not. 

_ Squeeze the sauce _ , he thought to himself, and he squeezed Zoro gently. 

His lips twitched the slightest bit upwards, but other than that he made no other movement to indicate that he was still awake.

“Zoro, are you sad?” Luffy asked.

Zoro kept his eyes closed. “Mm. Sometimes.”

“I don’t like it when you’re sad. You don’t show it.”

“‘s New World. Can’t be showing weakness. . .”

Luffy frowned. “I order you as captain to be sad.”

“Sure,” Zoro mumbled, moving in closer to Luffy. “. . . Why’s that?”

“So I can hug the sad out of you,” Luffy said, as if it were obvious. “If you’re sad, and I get all the sad sauce out of you, then I can put sauce on the meat again.”

Zoro nodded slowly. “I get it.”

His eye opened, and a sleepy grin was etched upon his lips. 

“You’re getting . . . hug.”

And with that, Zoro wrapped his arms around Luffy, his chin upon Luffy’s crown. The first mate and the captain, entangled together. Luffy smelt of the ocean and cooked meat. Zoro smelt of steel and hard work. Had any of the other Straw Hats been awake, they would have been surprised - not for Luffy, for this was typical behaviour of their captain. But for Zoro, this was unprecedented. Yet they all stayed asleep through this ordeal, while Luffy stayed wide awake. Zoro was half-awake, at least, but half-asleep as well.

Luffy blinked before settling into Zoro’s embrace. It was  _ warm _ , and reminded Luffy that, despite everything that had changed, Zoro was still  _ human _ , still  _ warm _ , and still that idiot swordsman he had always loved. Just like his feelings for the rest of the crew, and yet somehow different.

Even now, under Zoro’s embrace, he felt nothing but  _ affection  _ for his first mate.

A wide grin spread across his lips, and Luffy snuggled into Zoro’s chest. “I’m glad you’re here, Zoro.”

“Me too.”

* * *

“I never knew they swung that way.”

“Well, it’s  _ Luffy _ . When isn’t he like this?”

“It’s  _ Zoro _ . When is he ever like this?”

“Yohoho! What a beautiful display of companionship.”

“Er, I think it’s a bit more than companionship, Brook.”

“The rubber idiot and the marimo together?” A flick of a lighter. “Never would have guessed it, but they’re alright together. Least marimo ain’t with one of the girls.”

“Oh, please, like we would ever get with Zoro or Luffy. Or anyone in this crew.”

“There’s no need to be so harsh, sis.”

“There’s no need to speak for both of us, Nami.”

“Wait, are you seeing someone on this ship? Who is it?”

“Can we all please return our attention to the elephant in the room?”

Zoro finally opened his eye, scowling at the intrusion on his sleep, and glared at the other Straw Hats who now stood around his bed. The pirates quickly shut their mouths. 

He ran a hand through his hair, sighing. What the hell they were talking about, he didn’t know. What he  _ did  _ know was he was very, very, tired - yet somehow, he felt like he had a better sleep than he had in a while.

“Hey, Luffy,” he greeted his captain, before turning his gaze back to his crewmates. “Can you all kindly fuck off? I’m trying to sleep here.”

He froze. Blood rushed to his cheeks, his shoulders stiffened, and his eyes darted from Luffy to his friends.

He wasn’t exactly  _ horrified  _ about the prospect of sleeping with Luffy - not in that way! - but he was, however, not ready for the imminent shit-talking that would come from the pervert cook. And he could barely remember the last night at all, which put a wrench in things. Did he say anything to Luffy that would have exposed his true feelings?

Shit.

“Yo, Zoro,” Luffy replied, opening his eyes now and grinning. “Did you have a good sleep?”

“Yeah,” his response was automatic, but it was true, “and what about you?”

“Never felt better! Shishishi!”

Zoro smiled fondly. “That’s good to hear.”

A silence fell above all of them, as Zoro finally remembered he had an audience. It was only when that idiot cook opened his mouth that he, regrettably, remembered where he was.

“When’s the wedding bells?” Sanji said, smirking. Oh how Zoro wished he could punch him smack in the face. “I’ll make the cake.”

“I wonder if I can sell this information for money.” Nami brought her hand to her chin, pondering the thought. Of course, her first instinct would be to scheme her way into monetary gain. Zoro rolled his eye. 

Luffy jumped up, dusting his shorts, and crossed his arms. “Zoro was feeling sad, so I hugged the sauce, so he’s no longer sad!”

As if that made any sense.

Being used to this from their captain and his weird metaphors, the crew shrugged, nodded, and looked at each other. It didn’t exactly confirm or deny their relationship, but the answer was good enough for them.

“So, are you two dating?” Chopper asked innocently. 

Luffy and Zoro glanced at each other and shrugged. 

“We just like cuddling, I guess,” Luffy answered.

“It’s not like anything has changed from before,” Zoro added.

The crew had finally decided that breakfast was a more important point of discussion than the nature of Zoro and Luffy’s relationship. Making their way out, talking along the way, they slowly left the boy’s cabin, leaving Luffy and Zoro by themselves. Luffy began to walk away with them, but felt his hand stretch behind him. Zoro grasped it firmly.

Luffy tilted his head. “Something wrong?”

The swordsman smiled. “Thanks, Luffy.”

With red cheeks and an awkward posture, Zoro leant down and kissed Luffy on the forehead.

“I’ll make sure you’re never sad again.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
